BMTC to provide free rides for females on Women's Day

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: In order to promote public transport among women, the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has made a decision to provide free rides for them on the occasion of Women’s Day. A proposal to the government has been sent regarding the matter and BMTC is awaiting approval, it informed.

The BMTC is of the opinion that the initiative will not only help increase the patronage for the bus services but it will also help to beautify the image of the department. It had earlier offered free rides for all the city residents when the corporation turned 25 years in the month of August last year. According to the estimates chalked out by the department, over 20 lakh women passengers will use the bus services on Women’s Day.

If the government does approve the programme, it will be costing the BMTC over Rs 8.17 crore in revenue. Currently, over 10.48 lakh women on an average use the services provided by the BMTC. It has a fleet size of 6,600 buses and close to 29 lakh citizens rely on these buses for their daily commute purposes.